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Myron Walter Drabowsky
Kansas City Royals
Pitcher
Born: July 21, 1935, Ozanna, Poland
Signed: Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent, July 22, 1956
Major League Teams: Chicago Cubs 1956-60; Milwaukee Braves 1961; Cincinnati Reds 1962; Kansas City Athletics 1962-65; Baltimore Orioles 1966-68; Kansas City Royals 1969-70; Baltimore Orioles 1970; St. Louis Cardinals 1971-72; Chicago White Sox 1972
World Series Appearances: Baltimore Orioles 1966, 1970
Died: June 10, 2006, Little Rock, AR (age 70)
A well-known practical joker, Moe Drabowsky pitched in parts of 17 seasons in the majors, earning World Series rings with the Orioles in 1966 and 1970. Signed as a bonus baby by the Cubs in 1956, Drabowsky began his career as a starting pitcher but soon found more success as a reliever. His best seasons as a starting pitcher came with the 1957 Cubs (13-15 in 33 starts with a 3.53 ERA) and the 1963 Athletics (7-13 in 22 starts with a 3.05 ERA). Drabowsky was a key reliever for the Orioles in their 1966 championship season, going 6-0 with a 2.81 ERA over 44 appearances and pitching 6 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in Game 1 of the World Series against the Dodgers. After a season and a half with the expansion Royals, in which he won the first game in franchise history, Drabowsky came back to the Orioles and again pitched effectively out of the bullpen for the eventual World Champions. Drabowsky had a lifetime record of 88-105 with 54 saves over 589 games pitched.
He'd later coach in the White Sox and Cubs' systems, serving as the White Sox pitching coach in 1986 and the Cubs pitching coach in 1994. Drabowsky was a minor league pitching instructor with the Orioles between 1995 and 2006. Throughout his career, his practical joking including surprising teammates with live snakes, imitating front office personnel on phone calls and his prank of choice, the hot foot, in which a match is lighted while in the victim's shoe.
Died: June 10, 2006, Little Rock, AR (age 70)
A well-known practical joker, Moe Drabowsky pitched in parts of 17 seasons in the majors, earning World Series rings with the Orioles in 1966 and 1970. Signed as a bonus baby by the Cubs in 1956, Drabowsky began his career as a starting pitcher but soon found more success as a reliever. His best seasons as a starting pitcher came with the 1957 Cubs (13-15 in 33 starts with a 3.53 ERA) and the 1963 Athletics (7-13 in 22 starts with a 3.05 ERA). Drabowsky was a key reliever for the Orioles in their 1966 championship season, going 6-0 with a 2.81 ERA over 44 appearances and pitching 6 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in Game 1 of the World Series against the Dodgers. After a season and a half with the expansion Royals, in which he won the first game in franchise history, Drabowsky came back to the Orioles and again pitched effectively out of the bullpen for the eventual World Champions. Drabowsky had a lifetime record of 88-105 with 54 saves over 589 games pitched.
He'd later coach in the White Sox and Cubs' systems, serving as the White Sox pitching coach in 1986 and the Cubs pitching coach in 1994. Drabowsky was a minor league pitching instructor with the Orioles between 1995 and 2006. Throughout his career, his practical joking including surprising teammates with live snakes, imitating front office personnel on phone calls and his prank of choice, the hot foot, in which a match is lighted while in the victim's shoe.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #449
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
The Card / Royals Team Set / Accuracy Index +10
1969 Season
Drabowsky was the 42nd pick by the Royals in the 1968 expansion draft, held on October 15, 1968. He was credited with the first win in franchise history on April 8, 1969, when the Royals defeated the Twins by a score of 4-3 in 12 innings. Drabowsky threw a perfect inning in the top of the 12th, and Joe Keough (#603) singled home Joe Foy (#93) with the winning run in the bottom of the 12th. Drabowsky would assume closing duties for the expansion club, appearing in a team-leading 52 games and going 11-9 with a 2.94 ERA and 11 saves.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1957 Topps #84
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1957-62, 1964-72
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2020 Topps Decades' Best (Series One) #DB-27
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 86 in the Beckett online database as of 1/5/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables. The aim was simple: Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664. In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the fifth of 98 commons pulled from the binder. After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card was less than a dollar.
This is the second card in the set to feature the expansion Royals' uniform, following the card for Dennis Ribant (#463). With the palm trees prevalent in the background, Drabowsky is modeling a Royals' road uniform somewhere in Florida. The veteran's full major league statistics are on the back, along with a cartoon and write-up highlighting his heroics while with the Orioles.
Accuracy Index: Drabowsky scores a +10 for accurately depicted expansion uniform.
1969 Season
Drabowsky was the 42nd pick by the Royals in the 1968 expansion draft, held on October 15, 1968. He was credited with the first win in franchise history on April 8, 1969, when the Royals defeated the Twins by a score of 4-3 in 12 innings. Drabowsky threw a perfect inning in the top of the 12th, and Joe Keough (#603) singled home Joe Foy (#93) with the winning run in the bottom of the 12th. Drabowsky would assume closing duties for the expansion club, appearing in a team-leading 52 games and going 11-9 with a 2.94 ERA and 11 saves.
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First Mainstream Card: 1957 Topps #84
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1957-62, 1964-72
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2020 Topps Decades' Best (Series One) #DB-27
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 86 in the Beckett online database as of 1/5/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#507 Cookie Rojas - Philadelphia Phillies / #509 Manny Sanguillen - Pittsburgh Pirates